5.1 Passive VerbsForming the Passive - Quia



Name: ______________________________________________________________________ Period _____Chapter Five: Sentence Focus and Defensible AssertionsThe exercises in Chapter Five are based on the Racial Profiling module.Chapter Focus: Using Academic Language to Construct Arguments5.1 Passive VerbsForming the Passive?A passive verb always includes a form of be plus the participle of the verb.(A participle is the -ed or -en form of the verb.) Examples: is practiced, was arrested, have been taken?In general, only verbs that have a direct object (transitive verbs) can occur in the passive. direct objectActive: The police stopped motorists based on their race.Passive: Motorists were stopped by the police based on their race.?Therefore, verbs such as be, agree, die, seem, happen, and appear do not have passive forms because they never have direct objects. However, some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive with a slight change in meaning.Intransitive (no direct object after the verb)Active: Racial profiling happened in all major cities.Incorrect: Racial profiling was happened in all major cities.Intransitive (no direct object after the verb)Active: The attitude toward racial profiling has changed a lot.Transitive (a direct object follows the verb)Active: The legislature has changed the law on loitering.Passive: The anti-loitering law has been changed.The “doer” of the action in an active sentence is the subject. In a passive sentence, the “doer” is called the agent and is expressed in a prepositional phrase with by. Often the agent is omitted.“doer” = subject“doer” = agentActive: The officer stopped the motorist for speeding.Passive: The motorist was stopped (by the officer) for speeding.Chart 5.1Forming the PassivePastPresentFutureActiveThe officer stopped The officer stopsThe officer will stopthe motorist yesterday.her often.her next week.____________________________________________________________________________________________PassiveThe motorist wasShe is stoppedShe will be stoppedstopped yesterday.often.next week.ActiveThe officer wasThe officer is stopping(Not in common use)stopping the motorist.her now.____________________________________________________________________________________________PassiveThe motorist wasShe is being(Not in common use)being stopped whenstopped now.her cell phone rang.ActiveThe officer hadThe officer has The officer will have stopped the motorist.stopped her.stopped her by tomorrow.____________________________________________________________________________________________PassiveThe motorist hadShe has beenThe motorist will bebeen stopped.stopped. stopped by tomorrow.__________________________________________ActiveThe officer shouldThe officer shouldhave stopped thestop her.motorist.____________________________________________________________________________________________PassiveThe motorist shouldThe motorist shouldhave been stopped.be stopped.Note: -ing and -ed forms of the verb can also be active or passive.Being stopped by a law enforcement officer is a scary experience.No one expects to be stopped without a good reason.Exercise 2: Identifying passive verbsDirections: Underline the subjects and double-underline the passive verbs in the guided composition. Put parentheses around the “by” phrases that indicate the agent.1.According to Bob Herbert, ethnic profiling is practiced by law-enforcement personnel throughout the country. 2.From 1992 to 1995, 42,000 mostly black or Hispanic people were arrested for loitering. 3.In 1999 the loitering law was declared unconstitutional. 4.In many parts of the country in the 1990s, black and Hispanic motorists were also pulled over simply because of their race. 5.In New York, 45,000 people were stopped and frisked, but only 10,000 were arrested. 6.The director of the American Civil Liberties Union claimed, “Virtually everybody who was arrested is innocent, and virtually everybody is not white.” 7.Loitering laws can help to curb gang activity, but these laws may also be used to harass innocent people. 8.Most Americans have no idea how much racial profiling is carried out by the police. 9.Herbert believes that citizens, as a result, are often humiliated by the police. 10.A strong stand must be taken against the use of racial profiling.Using Passive Verbs EffectivelyIn most cases, writers use active verbs to make clear who or what is performing the action of the sentence. Sometimes writers use passive verbs to avoid assigning responsibility, as in the phrase, “Mistakes were made.” In this sentence, we don’t know who made the mistakes. Perhaps it was the person who wrote the sentence. Generally, writing that uses active verbs will be stronger and clearer. However, sometimes writers use passive voice intentionally. Always check your writing to make sure you have a good reason for using the passive. Below are three reasons for using passive verbs.1.You may use the passive when the agent or “doer” of the action is not known, not important, or is obvious; or you don’t want to mention the agent. Example: John was arrested for loitering.(The agent is obvious—when someone is arrested it is generally by the police— so the writer doesn’t choose to express the agent.)You may use the passive when you want the receiver of the action rather than the agent of the action to be the subject. As a result, the focus of the sentence will be on the receiver of the action, not the agent. Example: Many African Americans and Hispanics have been stopped simply because of their race.(The writer has put African Americans and Hispanics in the foreground by making them the subject of the sentence. The agent is not specified, although we can infer it is the police.) 3. You may use the passive when you want to avoid the informality of using the impersonal you or they.ExamplesActive: You should not stop innocent motorists based on their race.Passive: Innocent motorists should not be stopped based on their race.Exercise 3: Changing active verbs to passive verbsDirections: Rewrite the following sentences from active to passive and indicate how the focus of the sentence changes. If you include the agent in your rewrite, put the “by” phrase in parentheses. Talk with a partner about why a writer might choose one focus instead of the other for each sentence.1.In many parts of the country, law-enforcement personnel pulled over black and Hispanic motorists simply because of their race.In many parts of the country, black and Hispanic motorists were pulled over simply because of their race.Active sentence focus: law-enforcement personnelPassive sentence focus: black and Hispanic motorists2.In New York, the police stopped and frisked 45,000 people, but they arrested only 10,000.Active sentence focus: Passive sentence focus: 3.The police stopped only people who were not innocent.Active sentence focus: Passive sentence focus: 4.Most Americans have no idea how much police carry out racial profiling.Active sentence focus: Passive sentence focus: 5.Legislators designed the laws to curb gang activity.Active sentence focus: Passive sentence focus: 6.But the police are supposed to protect citizens, not humiliate them.Active sentence focus: Passive sentence focus: 5.2 ModalsOne special kind of verb is called a modal. Modals are different from helping verbs such as have, do, and be. Unlike those verbs, modals don’t have endings like regular verbs. You say, “The policeman has stopped the car,” but you don’t say, “The policeman cans stop the speeding car.” Modals are a special category of verbs that are used to express ability, possibility, permission, certainty, necessity, obligation, preference, and prediction. The meaning of the modal changes the logical meaning of the main verb, so the reader must make an inference or a prediction:?“The policeman stopped the speeding cars” is just a statement of fact. If you say, “The policeman might stop the speeding cars,” you are suggesting that it is possible he will stop the cars, but there is also a chance he won’t. ?If you say, “The policeman should stop the speeding cars,” you are making a recommendation, but just because you believe the policeman should stop the speeding cars, it doesn’t mean that he actually will. ?If you say, “The policeman must stop the speeding cars,” you are communicating that you think it is urgent that he stop the speeding cars. Using modals appropriately is an important way to communicate these and other precise meanings to your readers. Forming Verb Phrases with ModalsChart 5.2AModals and Their MeaningsModalPossible Meaningscanability or permissioncouldpossibility or permissionmaypossibility or permissionmightpossibility or permissionmustdegree of certainty or necessity shallnecessity shouldobligationwillpredictionwouldpossibility or preferenceModals?Always come first in the verb phrase?Always occur with a subject?Are always followed by the simple form of the verb (or by the auxiliaries have and be) Note: Never put an -s or an -ed on a modal.Never follow a modal by an infinitive (“to” plus simple verb).ExamplesRacial profiling can happen anywhere right now. (Not “cans happen.” Not “can to happen.”)It could happen to someone you know in the future.It might be difficult to prevent. Present/future time modals?Are followed by the simple form of the verb or an auxiliary?May refer either to the present or the futureThe police should avoid using racial profiling.The police may avoid using racial profiling in the future.Racial profiling must be stopped.Racial profiling will end when we all realize how unjust it is.Note: English does not have a real future tense. We use the modal will to predict what will happen in the future.Past time modals (modal perfects)?Are followed by have and the past participle?May refer to either the past or the past of a future point of timeThe police may have avoided using racial profiling in the past.(It is possible that the police did not use racial profiling.)Racial profiling should have ended by the time our children are adults.(By the time in the future when our children are adults, racial profiling will probably no longer exist, but it has not ended yet.)Exception?Could plus the simple form of the verb is used to refer to a past time (ability)From 1992 to 1995, law-enforcement officials could arrest people based on their ethnicity.(In the past, officials had the ability to use racial profiling; nothing stopped them.)Phrasal ModalsSome verbs have the same meaning as modals, but they are formed like regular verbs. They have an -s in the third person singular, present tense, and are followed by an infinitive.Chart 5.2BPhrasal Modals and Equivalent ModalsPhrasal ModalsModalsbe able toWe are able to stop racial profiling.canWe can stop racial profiling.be going toWe are going to stop racial profiling.willWe will stop racial profiling.are about toWe are about to stop racial profiling.willWe will stop racial profiling.have toWe have to stop racial profiling.mustWe must stop racial profiling.have got toWe have got to stop racial profiling.mustWe must stop racial profiling.be supposed toWe are supposed to stop racial profiling.shouldWe should stop racial profiling.ought toWe ought to stop racial profiling.shouldWe should stop racial profiling.be allowed toWe are allowed to stop racial profiling.mayWe may stop racial profiling.be likely toWe are likely to stop racial profiling.couldWe could stop racial profiling.to be about toWe are about to stop racial profiling.wouldWe would stop racial profiling.Note: Both phrasal modals and modals are followed by the simple form of the verb.Exercise 4: Identifying modals and their meanings This exercise is based on a student essay on racial profiling.Directions: Read the following paragraphs from a student essay about racial profiling. Double-underline the complete verb phrases in the passage; circle the modals and phrasal modals.Because of their position of authority, police may use their authority to shame members of minority groups. Statistics show that a police officer is more likely to pull over a black man for speeding than a white man. When someone is judged by skin color or accent, it can be shameful and humiliating. It’s not fair; it’s not equal; it’s not just. Police officers should protect and serve everyone, not just white people.If people are judged daily by skin color and nationality, unity will cease to exist. How can people unite if they cannot look past the surface? Racial profiling may be the greatest cause of division among Americans. “United we stand, but divided we fall.” If America cannot look past its differences, this problem could become worse. If that happens, America, the land of the great, will fall.Directions: Fill in the chart below with the verb phrases that have modals or phrasal modals. Indicate the meaning of the modal or phrasal modal in the second column.Verb Phrase with Modal/Phrasal ModalMeaning1.may useability2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11. ................
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